AGEs and Your Second Skin (Fascia)

AGEs and Your Second Skin (Fascia)

So I’m going to share my favorite resource for healthfully decadent desserts because I also want to talk about your skin, and your second skin and AGEing.

Fascia is essentially our second skin, covering muscle, nerve, joints and organs. It’s located beneath our skin layer, acting as a deeper inner skin layer that weaves throughout the body. I’ve heard it described as saran wrap for the the inside of the body. Fascia acts as a communicator transmitting input from one area to the body to another. If you’ve ever had a great foot massage and your headache clears or your shoulders relax, well that’s likely thanks to the complex web of fascia loosening. Your entire body is connected by this fibrous collagen filled inner or “second skin”.

By focusing on fascia health, we can begin to change the inner communication system of the body, creating fluid relaxed movement, supple skin and subcutaneous fat redistribution. Our goal with improving the health of our inner, or second skin, is to nurture this tissue by supplying it with collagen-enhancing nutrients and avoiding things that will degrade collagen.

Excess dietary sugar binds to collagen and goes through a process called glycation where these new sugar linked proteins, appropriately called AGE’s (advanced glycation end products) cause inflammation and collagen degradation. Internally, unhealthy fascia will cause muscle stiffness, aching joints, headaches and anxiety. Externally, you will see cellulite and sagging skin. AGE’s literally cause you to age too fast!

In practice, I regularly see the damage sugar can cause… it’s a reflex recommendation that my clients avoid added sugar in their diet. Beyond the metabolic consequences of excess sugar, I simply don’t want people to not feel like food has control over them. If you’re one of my “sugar people” then you know what it’s like for sugar to almost literally control you. For some it can be like any other drug out there… so addictive. Craving and over consuming sugar is a symptom of an imbalance in the body. Like any other imbalance….digestive issues, skin rashes, joint pain, etc, … there are underlying metabolic issues that need to be identified and addressed for you to take back control of your food choices.

But what about simply enjoying sugar? As part of the human race, we’re programmed to like the taste of sugars. It is a survival mechanism for a baby to seek breastmilk for the first time and for us to seek carbohydrate rich foods that will help us store fats for the long, famine-based winters. We don’t really have times of famine anymore and most of us are not in need of storing extra fat, so the question remains. Can we enjoy sugar without it controlling us or without it breaking down our precious collagen based fascia?

The answer is yes, sort of; the trick is to enjoy the indulgent decadence of a tasty treat without unnecessary excesses of sugar. We lean on a local chef and friend who has shown us the way. Nicole LaPorte is the chef who created some of our recipes in the Fascia Fax Food Plan like the Fascia Fix Chocolate Chili Collagen Mousse and our Fascia Fix Garlic Herb Coconut Butter. You need to know about her book, Sugar-Free Desserts: 25 Decadent Recipes That Taste Anything But Sugar-Free (No Sugar, No Sweat, or for more than just sweets, find out more about her work at her website: NoSugarNoSweat.com. I have had the guilt-free pleasure of tasting several of her recipes, like the strawberry shortcake and the key lime pie…decadent!

I imagine if you followed the link to her book above, then we just lost you. But if you’re still here…

For youthful collagen (or perhaps… to not AGE it too fast) a dietary approach is essential. You need to protect and nourish. Protect collagen by avoiding sugar and high carbohydrate foods and choosing gluten-free, grain-free and sugar-free dessert options for your sweet tooth. You can stimulate new collagen production by adding collagen hydrolysate to foods and drinks. You can take it up a notch with our The Fascia Fix Collagen Peptide Complex (CPC) powder which includes collagen hydrolysate as well as collagen supporting nutrients like silica and biotin. You can protect and stimulate new collagen topically with deep tissue bodywork, dry skin brushing and our Topical Collagen Peptide Complex (T-CPC) cream. Learn more at www.FasciaFixFoodPlan.com

We are gathering resources for our clients that want to maintain healthy skin, fascia… please share what you have found works for you.

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